Rockies-Marlins Series Grades: Misery in Miami

It was an ugly series in Miami for the Colorado Rockies, as it usually is, and there wasn’t much to write home about in terms of individual performances, especially on the position player side.

The silver lining, for those looking for one after a series in which half the RBI came from a reliever, is that the pitching staff was very good.

Moving forward, it is the arms and not the bats that will get this team to the postseason, but the workload will need to be shared more than this.

Remembering all the crazy caveats associated with the Rockies in Miami, here are our individual player grades for the series… let’s start with the good:

Antonio Senzatela (A-): He gets bonus points for difficulty of the task, importance of the contribution, and swag. He only played 3.2 innings of the series but without them, Colorado is walking away having been swept in Miami. Again. He rode in as the cavalry when Anderson had to exit the game and dominated on the mound. He then came through with the courtesy of providing a little offense with an RBI double, almost single-handedly winning the game.

Chad Bettis (B+): On most days, pitching seven innings and giving up just two runs on four hits will result in a win for your club. Bettis continues to be the most consistent and all-around best pitcher in the Rockies rotation.

German Marquez (B): Marquez went six innings and gave up three runs, though just two of them earned, and walked three but also struck out six. This is more or less the kind of outing that the term “quality start” is meant to capture.

DJ LeMahieu/Tyler Anderson (I): LeMahieu hit a double in his second of only two at-bats before going to the bench with a hamstring issue. Anderson gave up one hit and one walk in 1.1 IP.

Gerardo Parra (C+): Did you know that Parra hit .375 over the weekend? Because I sure didn’t. I mean, it was just 3-for-8 but he also drew a walk, scored the lone run in the game the Rockies won and was, therefore—far and away—the Rockies best offensive player in the series.

Charlie Blackmon (C-): Blackmon hit a solo home run in the second game of the series that accounted for half the RBI for Colorado in the series. He got one other base hit. A single.

Ian Desmond (D+): Desmond tallied a pair of base hits, including a double, and drew a walk. He was the only Rockie to reach base twice on Sunday. He was also plunked twice

Chris Iannetta (D): Iannetta went 0-for-8 but did draw a couple of walks and caught well in both of his games behind the dish.

Trevor Story (D-): With a couple of games in the cleanup spot against lefties, Story collected just two singles and did not drive in a run. Then again, neither did anyone else.

David Dahl (D-): The newest member of the lineup was also the newest victim of the Miami curse, grabbing just one base hit and striking out four times. He continues to look like a huge asset in the outfield, though, making some nice plays and almost converting a spectacular out at the plate if not for a drop by catcher Tony Wolters.

Nolan Arenado (D-): The worst series of the season for the Rockies best player. He drew a pair of walks but did not get a hit until his final at-bat and that was a measly single to right field. He came up empty in some big spots, specifically with a first-pitch pop-up to the shortstop in the sixth inning of Saturday night’s game. Of course, he did have some nice glovework at third. It’s gonna be hard to ever give this guy an “F” and this probably as close as he will get.